Cigarette packaging arrangement



Feb. 26, 1957 Filed Dec. 22, 1955 G. D. SHQLTY CIGARETTE PACKAGINGARRANGEMENT 5 Sheets-Sheet l IN V EN TOR.

Feb. 26, 1957 G. D. SHOLTY 2,732,738

CIGARETTE PACKAGING ARRANGEMENT Filed Dec. 22, 1955 5 Shee'tsSheet 2F/GJ IN VEN TOR.

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G. D. SHOLTY CIGARETTE PACKAGING ARRANGEMENT Feb. 26, 1957 5Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Dec. 22 1955 I {)NVENTOR.

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United States Patent CIGARETTE PACKAGING ARRANGEMENT George D. Sholty,New York, N. Y. Application December 22, 1955, Serial No. 554,849

12 Claims. (Cl. 131-4) The present invention relates to a cigarettepacking arrangement.

At the present time cigarettes without filters are packaged separatelyfrom cigarettes with filters. As a result it is necessary formanufacturers to have different sets of equipment for packagingdifferent types of cigarettes as well as for making the different typesof cigarettes, and also if a purchaser wishes to try filter cigarettesrather than non-filter cigarettes, it is necessary for the purchaser topurchase an entire package of filter cigarettes for such purpose.

One of the objects of the present invention is to provide a cigarettepackaging arrangement which makes it possible for the user to withdrawfrom the package at the option of the user either a cigarette without afilter or a cigarette with a filter.

Another object of the present invention is to make it possible tostandardize the packaging of cigarettes by providing uniform packagesfrom which either filter or nonfilter cigarettes may be removed.

A further object of the present invention is to provide an exceedinglysimple and economical packaging arrangement which will enable the aboveobjects to be reliably produced.

With the above objects in view, the present invention mainly consists ofa cigarette packaging arrangement which includes a container havingopposite ends each of which is capable of being opened. Within thecontainer are located a plurality of filter ciganrettes with the filtersthereof located next to one of the ends of the container. The filtersinclude tubes which surround the cigarettes and are connected theretoonly by friction, respectively. Within the container is located a meansfor preventing the filters from being removed from the container withthe cigarettes only when the latter are removed through a given one ofthe ends of the container.

The novel features which are considered as characteristic for theinvention are set forth in particular in the appended claims. Theinvention itself, however, both as to its construction and its method ofoperation, together with additional objects and advantagesthereof, willbe best understood from the following description of specificembodiments when read in connection with the accompanying drawings, inwhich:

Fig. 1 is a perspective elevational view of a cigarette used in thepackaging arrangement of the invention;

Fig. 2 is a developed view of the filter tube of the cigarette used inthe packaging arrangement of the invention;

Fig. 3 is a perspective view on an enlarged scale of the tubular filter,the cigarette associated with the filter of Fig. 3 being shownfragmentarily in Fig. 3 in dot dash lines;

Fig. 4 is a side elevational view of a means for retaining the filtersin the package at the option of the user;

Fig. 5 is a perspective view on an enlarged scale illustrating thecooperation between the filter retaining means and the cigarette;

Fig. 6 is a partly broken away perpsective view of the packagingarrangement of the present invention;

Fig. 7 is a partly broken away perspective view illustrating thepackaging arrangement of the invention when the cigarettes are removedfrom the container through the end opposite from that through which acigarette is shown being withdrawn in Fig. 6;

Fig. 8 is a sectional plan view of a packaging arrangement according tothe present invent-ion;

Fig. 9 is an elevational view of another embodiment of a means forretaining the filters within the container;

Fig. 10 is a fragmentary plan view illustrating the manner in which thestructure of Fig. 9 is arranged with respect to the cigarettes;

Fig. 11 is a side elevational view of another embodiment of a means forretaining the filters in the container;

Fig. 12 is a plan view illustrating the manner in which the device ofFig. 11 cooperates with the cigarettes;

Fig. 13 is a fragmentary side elevational view of another form of ameans for retaining the filters in the container;

Fig. 14 is a fragmentary perspective View illustrating the manner inwhich the device of Fig. 13 is associated with the cigarettes, thelatter being shown in dot dash lines in Fig. 14; and

Fig. 15 is a sectional plan view illustrating the manner in which thestructure of Figs. 13 and 14 is arranged within the container.

Referring now to the drawings, Fig. 1 shows a filter cigarette whichincludes a cigarette portion 20 and a filter 21 joined thereto. Thefilter 21 includes a tube 22 which is shown in a developed view in Fig.2. Before the strip which forms the filter tube 22 is formed into a tubeit is provided adjacent one edge with a reinforcing strip 23 joined tothe remainder of the strip in any suitable way such as by glue or thelike, and the edge of the strip which carries the reinforcement 23 isformed with V- notches 24 as indicated in Fig. 2. When the structure ofFig. 2 is formed into a tube, the overlapping edges of the tube are heldtogether only by the crimping 25 indicated in Figs. 1 and 3. Then thetube 22 is joined to the outer tube of the cigarette 20 by surroundingan end portion of the latter, and the tube of the cigarette 20 is joinedto the tube 22 only by the crimping 26, so that the tube of thecigarette 20 and the tube 22 are held together only by friction. TheV-n'otches 24 formed in the edge portion of the filter tube 22 whichoverlaps the cigarette make it easier to insert the cigarette tube intothe filter tube and furthermore make it easier to provide a spacebetween the notched portion of the filter tube 22 and the cigarette fora purpose described below.

Fig. 4 shows a strip 27 made of paper or a relatively light flexiblecardboard, the strip 27 having teeth 28 formed along one edge thereofand indicated in Fig. 4.

In accordance with the present invention the strips 27 are fixed withinthe cigarette container with the teeth 28 located between the notchededge portion 29 of the filter tubes 22 and the cigarettes 20, in themanner indicated in Fig. 5 which shows how a pair of the strips 27 arelocated on opposite sides of each cigarette 20. Thus, with thearrangement shown in Fig. 5 when a cigarette is pulled downwardly bygrasping the filter tube 22 thereof, as viewed in Fig. 5, the filterwill draw the cigarette out of the container with the filter, and theuser will receive a filter cigarette from the container. However, if thecigarette 20 is moved upwardly, as viewed in Fig. 5, the strips 27 willretain the filter tube 22 and the filter therein within the container,and only the cigarette 26) will be removed from the container, so thatin this way a cigarette without a filter may be obtained directly fromthe package.

The manner in which this result is accomplished is further illustratedin Figs. 6 and 7. Thus, Figs. 6 and 7 show a conventional cigarettecontainer 30 having opposite ends 31 and 32 capable of being opened in aconventional manner. It will be noted that the filter cigarettes arelocated within the container with the filter ends thereof next to theend 32 of the container, and the means for retaining the filters in thecontainer has the form of toothed strips 33 similar to the toothedstrips 27 but being narrower than the latter. These strips 33 are fixedwithin the container between the layers of cigarettes therein in themanner illustrated in Fig. 8. Thus, a pair of strips 33aand 3311 arelocated between the outer layers of cigarettes 20 and the outer sides 34of the package container 30, these strips 33a and 3312 being glued, forexample, to the inner faces of the sides 34 of the container 30.Furthermore, a pair of toothed strips 330 and 33a are provided attheir'ends with flaps 35 which are fixed within the container as bybeing glued to the inner face thereof. As is evident from Figs. 6 and 7,the teeth of the strips 33 are arranged between the filter tubes 22 andthe cigarettes 20, respectively, in the space between the reinforcededge portions ofthe filter tubes and the cigarettes, as was describedabove. As is indicated in Figs. 6 and 7, one end of the container 30carries at its outer face the indication open here plain, and theopposite end of the container 30 is provided with the indication openhere filtered." The latter indicia is located next to the end 32 of thecontainer 30 where the filters of the cigarettes are located. Thus, ifthe user opens the end 32 of the container 30, the cigarettes can bewithdrawn from the container 30 with the filters thereof first emergingfrom the container and moving away from the toothed strips 33 so thatthe latter do not prevent the filters from being removed from thecontainer together with the cigarettes. On the other hand, if the end 31of the container 30 is opened and a cigarette is withdrawn through theend 31, as indicated in Fig. 7, then the filter of the cigarette beingwithdrawn will move upwardly with the latter only through a relativelyshort distance while the teeth of the strips 33 enter to a greaterextent between the cigarette and the filter, until the latter can nolonger move upwardly with the cigarette 20, so that as the cigarette 20is further removed from the container the filter is detached therefromand only the cigarette 20 without a filter is removed from thecontainer.

Instead of fiat strips 27 or 33, as described above, the filterretaining or catch means may be in the form of a wavy strip 40, asindicated in Figs. 9 and 10. This strip 40 has the teeth 41 along oneedge thereof, and as is indicated in Fig. 10, the strip 40 passes aroundone side of one cigarette and then around the opposite side of the nextcigarette. In this way the wavy strip 40 passes about the cigarettes inthe package, and these strips 40 are joined to the inner face of thecontainer 30 in the same way as the strips shown in Fig. 8. That is, atsurface portions of the strip 40 which engage the inner faces of thecontainer 30, the strips 40 are glued, for example, to the container,

so that in this way the filter retaining means 40 is fixed within thecontainer 30. It is evident that with the embodiment of Figs. 9 and 10the same results will be produced as with the above describedembodiments.

Figs. 11 and 12 show a further embodiment according to which corrugatedstrips 42 are provided. These corrugated strips 42 cooperate with thecigarettes 20 in the manner indicated in Fig. 12. Thus, the cigarettesof a given layer in the container 30 are respectively located in thesuccessive recesses 43 formed by the corrugated strip 42, and the teeth44 of the strip 42 extend between the filters and the cigarettes toproduce the same result as described above. The strips 42 may have endflaps glued to the inner face of the container, in the same way asdescribed above and as shown in Fig. 8, and the curved portions of thestrips 42 which engage the inner face of the container may also be gluedthereto.

Figs. 13-15 show an embodiment of the invention where the filterretaining or catch means is in the form of a zig-zag strip 45. Thiszig-zag strip 45 as well as the 4 strips 40 or 42 may be made of a paperor of a relatively light flexible cardboard. With the embodiment ofFigs. 13-15, an elongated continuous strip 45 is used in each container.As is indicated in Fig. 14, the strip 45 is arranged so as to haveoppositely curved wavy portions interlocked with each other and formingopenings through which the cigarettes 20 extend, so that thesecigarettes are completely surrounded by the strip 45. The arrangement isindicated in Fig. .15 from which it will be seen that starting with theend 46 of the strip 45 there are provided oppositely curved wavyportions which pass in opposite directions around the successivecigarettes. At the corner 47 of the container 30 shown in Fig. 15, theportions of the strip 45 continue in the manner shown in Fig. 15 in anopposite direction along the next layer of cigarettes, and in this wayall of the cigarettes are surrounded by one continuous zig-zag strip.The places where the portions of the strip 45 surrounding two adjacentlayers of cigarettes, such as the portions 48, are located are glued toeach other, and at the places 49 where the strip 45 engages the innerface of the container, the strip 45 is glued to this inner face, so thatin this way the strip 45 is fixed to the container in the interiorthereof. As is indicated diagrammatically in Fig. 14, the bottomV-shaped portions of the strip 45, as viewed in Fig. 14, extend betweenthe filters and cigarettes, respectively, so that with this embodimentof the invention the same results can be produced as with the otherembodiments of the invention.

The embodiment of the invention described and shown in Figs. 13-15 is ofadvantage because one continuous strip may'be used, and it is possibleto place this strip about the cigarettes while the latter are moving oneafter the other on a conveyor or the like, after which the cigarettesare arranged in the layers shown in Fig. 15 with the strip 45 previouslylocated on the cigarettes. The portions of the strip 45 which are gluedtogether may be previously provided with a glue which is moistened inorder to cause the gluing action to take place. Furthermore, it will benoted that several strips 45 may be cut from a sheet of paper or thelike without any waste, so that this embodiment is very economical. Itwill be noted also, with the other embodiments of the invention thatwhen a toothed strip is cut from a section of sheet material, the latterhas a plurality of teeth remaining thereon and, these teeth may form thetoothed edge of another strip, so that in this way also an economicalprocess for making the strips is provided, since there is a minimumwaste.

With respect to the outer strip portions such as the strips 33a and 33bas shown in Fig. 8, it should s'e noted that it. is possible to omitthese latter strips and instead to form in the Sides 34 of the container30 cutouts having toothed edges which are arranged with the teeththereof between the filters and cigarettes of the outer layers, so thatthe teeth which are thus formed in the sides 34 of the container 30cooperate with the cigarette in the same way as the strips 33a and 33bof Fig. 8. With such an arrangement, the container 30 is surrounded in aconventional manner with cellophane or the like, so that the cigarettesexposed by such cutouts formed in the sides 34 of the container 30 arestill kept fresh and are visible but not accessible.

It will be understood that each of the elements described above, or twoor more together, may also find a useful application in other types ofpackaging arrangements dif fering from the types described above.

While the invention has been illustrated and described as embodied in acigarette packaging arrangement, it is not intended tobe limited to thedetails shown, since various modifications and structural changes may bemade without departing in any way from the spirit of the presentinvention.

Without further analysis, the foregoing will so fully reveal the gist ofthe present invention that others can by applying current knowledgereadily adapt-it for various 55 applications without omitting featuresthat, from the stand point of prior art, fairly constitute essentialcharacteristics of the generic or specific aspects of this inventionand, therefore, such adaptations should and are intended to becomprehended within the meaning and range of equivalence of thefollowing claims.

What is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

l. A cigarette packaging arrangement comprising, in combination, acontainer having opposite ends each of which is capable of being opened;a plurality of filter cigarettes located in said container, each of saidcigarettes having a removable filter and said cigarettes being arrangedin said container with "the filters thereof located next to one of saidends of said container; and means in said container for preventing thefilters of said cigarettes from being removed from the container withsaid cigarettes only when the latter are removed from said containerthrough the end opposite from said one end thereof, whereby when thecigarettes are removed from said opposite end of said container thecigarettes emerge from the container without a filter while when thecigarettes are removed from said one end of said container thecigarettes emerge with the filters.

2. A cigarette packaging arrangement comprising, in combination, acontainer having opposite ends each of which is capable of being opened;a plurality of filter cigarettes located in said container, each of saidcigarettes having a tubular filter joined thereto only by friction, saidcigarettes being arranged in said container with the filters locatednext to one of said ends of said container; and cat-ch means located insaid container for catching said filters to prevent the same from beingremoved from the container with the cigarettes only when the cigarettesare removed from the container through the end thereof opposite fromsaid one end.

3. A cigarette packaging arrangement comprising, in combination, acontainer; a plurality of filter cigarettes located in said containerand each having a detachable filter and means in said container engagingthe filters of said cigarettes, respectively, for preventing saidfilters from being removed from the container with said cigarettes onlywhen the latter are removed through one of the ends of the container.

4. A cigarette pack-aging arrangement comprising, in combination, acontainer having opposite ends each of which is capable of being opened;a plurality of cigarettes located in said container, each of saidcigarettes having frictionally connected thereto a tubular filtersurrounding a part of each cigarette; and toothed means located in saidcontainer and having teeth respectively located between each cigaretteand the filter thereon for preventing the filters from being removedfrom the container with the cigarettes when the latter are removedthrough one end of the container while permitting the filters to beremoved from the container with the cigarettes when the latter areremoved through the opposite end of the container.

5. A cigarette packaging arrangement comprising, in combination, acontainer having opposite ends each of which is capable of being opened;a plurality of filter cigarettes located in said container with thefilters thereof located next to one end of said container, the filtersof said cigarettes respectively being in the form of tubular memberssurrounding the cigarettes, respectively, and being only frictionallyconnected thereto; and a plurality of toothed strips located in saidcontainer, being fixed thereto, and having teeth located between saidfilters and cigarettes, respectively, so that said cigarettes can beremoved from the container with said filters only when the latter aredrawn together with the cigarettes through said one end of saidcontainer.

6. A cigarette packing arrangement comprising, in combination, acontainer having opposite ends each of which is capable of being opened;a plurality of layers of filter cigarettes located in said containerwith the filters thereof located next to one of saidends of saidcontainer, said filters being in the form of tubes which surround saidcigarettes, respectively, and which are only frictionally connectedthereto; and a plurality of toothed strips fixed in said container witheach of said layers of cigarettes located between and engaged by a pairof said toothed strips, the latter having along one edge thereof aplurality of teeth extending between the cigarettes and the filtersthereon to prevent said filters from being removed from the containerwith the cigarettes when the latter are removed from the end of thecontainer opposite from said one end thereof.

7. A cigarette packaging arrangement comprising, in combination, acontainer having opposite ends each of which is capable of being opened;a plurality of filter cigarettes located in said container with thefilters thereof located adjacent one end of said container, said filtersincluding tubes respectively surrounding and connected only by frictionto said cigarettes; and a toothed strip means located in said containerand having teeth located between said cigarettes and the filtersthereon, respectively, for preventing said filters from being removedfrom the container with the cigarettes when the latter are removedthrough the end of the container opposite from said one end thereof.

8. A cigarette packaging arrangement comprising, in combination, acontainer having opposite ends each of which is capable of being opened;a plurality of filter cigarettes located in said container with thefilters thereof located adjacent one end of said container, said filtersincluding tubes respectively surrounding and connected only by frictionto said cigarettes; and a toothed strip means located in said containerand having teeth located between said cigarettes and the filtersthereon, respectively, for preventing said filters from being removedfrom the container with the cigarettes when the latter are removedthrough the end of the container opposite from said one end thereof,said toothed strip means being in the form of elongated strips havingteeth along only one edge thereof.

9. A cigarette packaging arrangement comprising, in combination, acontainer having opposite ends each of which is capable of being opened;a plurality of filter cigarettes located in said container with thefilters thereof located adjacent one end of said container, said filtersincluding tubes respectively surrounding and connected .only by frictionto said cigarettes; and a toothed strip means located in said containerand having teeth located between said cigarettes and the filtersthereon, respectively, for preventing said filters from being removedfrom the container with the cigarettes when the latter are removedthrough the end of the container opposite from said one end thereof,said toothed strip means being in the form of an elongated curved strippassing partly about one side of one cigarette and then partly about theopposite side of the next cigarette and having teeth respectivelylocated between said filters and cigarettes.

10. A cigarettte packaging arrangement comprising, in combination, acontainer having opposite ends each of which is capable of being opened;a plurality of filter cigarettes located in said container with thefilters thereof located adjacent one end of said container, said filtersincluding tubes respectively surrounding and connected only by frictionto said cigarettes; and a toothed strip means located in said containerand having teeth located between said cigarettes and the filtersthereon, respectively, for preventing said filters from being removedfrom the container with the cigarettes when the latter are removedthrough the end of the container opposite from said one end thereof,said toothed strip means being in the form of a corrugated strip partlysurrounding a plurality of said cigarettes and having teeth along oneedge located between said filters and cigarettes, respectively. 11. Acigarette packaging arrangement comprising, in

combination, a container having opposite ends each of which is capableof being opened; a plurality of filter cigarettes located in saidcontainer with the filtersthere'of located adjacent one end ofsaidcontainer, said filters including tubes respectively surrounding andconnected only by friction to said cigarettes; and a toothed strip meanslocated in said container and having teeth located between saidcigarettes and the filters thereon, respectively, for preventing saidfilters from being removed from the container with the cigarettes whenthe latter are removed through the end of the container opposite fromsaid one end thereof, said toothed strip means being in the form of azig-zag strip surrounding the cigarettes and having teeth locatedbetween said filters and cigarettes, respectively.

12. A cigarette packaging arrangement comprising, in combination, acontainer having opposite ends each of which is capable of being opened;a plurality of filter cigarettes located in said container with thefilters thereof located adjacent one end of said container, said filtersincluding tubes which surround said cigarettes, respectively, and areconnected thereto only by friction; and an elongated zi'g-zag strip offlexible material having elongated opposed oppositely curved wavyportions interlocked with each other and respectively surrounding saidcigaretttes, parts of said strip forming teeth, and said teeth beinglocated between said filters and cigarettes, respectively, said stripbeing fixed to said container so that the filters are retained in thelatter when the cigarettes are removed through the opposite end of thecon- [51111611 References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATESPATENTS 931,582 Drucklieb Aug. 17, 1909 1,881,293 Poirier et al. Oct. 4,1932 2,695,617 I Warnberg Nov. 30, 1954 2,747,579 Gage et al. May 29,1956

